CHAPTER 103: CHAPTER 103 - NO WAY BACK

Chapter 103 - No Way Back

"Break the dungeon?"

Adonis was, to say the least, skeptical.

"Yes. If we get to the Seed Room and kill the dungeon boss, the dungeoning will naturally stop."

"I know how to stop a dungeon from forming... But is that really even possible?"

Even now, the raging Parasite Beast was circling nearby, ready to pounce at any moment. To reach the Seed Room, they’d first have to cut a path through it.

Biting his lower lip, Adonis muttered grimly,

"The risk is too high. We have to consider the possibility of total annihilation."

"..."

"Let’s return to the Ark and regroup. I don’t care if it’s Mr. Kyle himself — even he can’t stop a dungeoning of this size alone."

But Jhin, facing Adonis , only shook his head.

If returning to regroup and mounting an assault later were truly an option, he would’ve chosen that a hundred times over.

"The Company won’t sit still. If this turns into a real dungeon because the dungeoning accelerates, then we’re out of options."

A fully formed dungeon would be a nightmare compared to a zone still mid-transformation. The difference in difficulty would be another dimension entirely.

There was at least a sliver of hope now. Once it turned into a true dungeon, even that shred would vanish.

If a dungeon of this size became real... what class would it even be?

Jhin looked around at the fear-stricken people surrounding him and finally spoke.

"It won’t be easy. We’ll have to stake our lives. We might all die."

"..."

"But we don’t have a choice. One day, we’ll look back and bitterly regret not destroying this dungeon when we had the chance."

A dry gulp passed through the crowd. It wasn’t as though they hadn’t imagined a bleak future themselves.

The Ark was already suffering a famine thanks to the "Lizardman Invasion."

Adding a dungeon of this scale would be an unbearable burden.

Just as Jhin said, this dungeon had to be stopped here — it was the only way to keep New Capital alive.

In the end, none of them could walk away from this.

Jhin drove the point home.

"And besides, we still don’t know how to get out of here."

"...Understood."

Their only glimmer of hope lay in the fact that the two people standing among them were none other than the Transcendentals, "Kyle" and "Clark."

That sliver of hope was pinned on them.

"We’re making a straight run for the Seed Room," Jhin announced. "If you fall behind, I can’t help you. Everyone understands that, right?"

"...Yes."

"Then no delays. The operation resumes now."

He turned toward the churning Parasite Beast and furrowed his brows.

Startled by his chilling gaze, the creature recoiled momentarily — but it was creeping forward again, preparing for a second strike.

Krkak... krakakak!

Tendrils spread, forming a circle around them like a tightening noose.

The more time they gave it, the worse their odds became. Time was on the monster’s side, not the players’.

Jhin gripped his sword tightly and shouted,

"Now!"

The team burst into a sprint.

The Parasite Beast surged forward in response.

"Run! Use every ounce of strength you’ve got!"

Adonis roared, teeth clenched.

And then the creature’s full-on assault began.

As if it possessed intelligence, it closed in from all directions, choking the space until there was barely room to breathe.

Millie aimed her gun and barked,

"Don’t fall behind!"

Bang!

The magic bullet ripped through the air, and the writhing tendrils exploded outward.

The beasts caught in the blast flinched — and Jhin’s blade swung without mercy.

A path opened.

Holding their breath, the team surged forward, pushing through the narrow corridor with everything they had.

"Keep running!"

"Yaaah!"

These were players, after all.

As if sharing one mind, they sliced and struck and shoved their way forward.

For a moment, it looked like they might actually make it to the Seed Room.

But not everyone did.

"Help me!"

"Aaaargh!"

Some began to fall behind.

Powerless, unable to keep up with the vanguard, they became stranded in the middle of the battlefield.

"Damn it! Don’t look back!"

Adonis ordered coldly.

But a few players, gritting their teeth, turned around anyway to save their comrades.

"Finch!"

"Tomas!"

Yet instead of rescuing anyone, all they did was add to the body count.

The Parasite Beast’s charge was relentless.

They weren’t strong enough — not to save their comrades and themselves.

Not even Jhin could do anything about it.

He wasn’t a god.

Breaking through the attack wave alone was already a herculean task.

"Aaaaaaaaagh!"

Even as the ones left behind screamed in terror, even as desperate voices cried out their names, begging to be saved —

They kept running.

There was no way to help.

There was only one thing they could do in the face of death:

Run at full speed toward the destination.

"Mr. Jhin!"

Jhin hacked down a Parasite Beast nearby like an old woodsman felling timber.

He caught sight of the Black Hole just ahead.

His eyes met Millie’s.

Bang!

"This is it! Just make it to here!"

The signal fired, and Jhin began dashing in all directions, fending off enemies to aid the survivors rushing toward them.

He couldn’t help those still far away —

But those who’d made it this far, he would not abandon.

His will bled into his blade.

It danced through the monsters with growing speed.

"Th-thank you!"

Survivors broke free from the beasts’ clutches and hurled themselves into the Black Hole.

Did they make it?

They disappeared through the rift like stepping through a portal — what lay beyond couldn’t be seen from here.

It was likely a separate space, styled like a dungeon.

But wherever it was, it had to be better than this.

"Mr. Jhin!"

"You go first!"

With one final push, Jhin shoved Millie through the Black Hole.

Panting hard, he looked behind him.

There were still survivors, barely clinging to life beyond the tide of Parasite Beasts.

They fought, screamed, flailed for survival.

But their fate seemed already written.

The creatures closed in.

The parasites had begun to spread across the ground, leaving nowhere left to stand.

"..."

[You have discovered ’The Puppeteer Pierrot’s Secret Seed Room.’]

[!]

[’Goblin Hood’ detected in your possession.]

[An unknown force guides you forward.]

[You have discovered ’The Puppeteer Pierrot’s Secret Seed Room.’]

[An unknown force guides you forward.]

As her body lifted gently into the air and landed on the far side, Millie exhaled slowly.

What stretched out before her was a darkened office.

Scanning the unexpected scene, she steadied her breath.